African Dream: Following scat, tracks and other cats

October 21, 2011

As I continue to write about my volunteer vacation to Namibia with Biosphere Expeditions, you may be wondering what exactly does the word "expedition" mean? Defined, expedition means a "journey with a purpose."

This certainly was what we experienced through 12 days on the 100-kilometer Ongos Farm.

As volunteers, we were to assist in conducting a survey of African cats - leopard, cheetah and caracal, African wildcat and black-footed cat - and their interrelationships with humans and prey animals.

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PHOTO SUBMITTEDGabi Felter acquaints herself with a rhinoceros.

Our main focus was the leopard, whose prey included a variety of antelope, giraffe, zebra, warthog, wildebeest and hartebeest and farmers' livestock. A leopard has the capability of killing an animal twice its size and farmers will kill the leopard to protect expensive livestock. Here lies one of the problems.

In order for us volunteers to be of any use, training was a must. I became very close to the compass, the GPS, the documentation of data and the tires on the Land Rover. We were split into three groups and assigned different tasks each day on a rotation basis.

My personal favorite was vehicle tracking.

Fact Box

Note: Tiffin resident Gabi Felter took part in an expedition to Africa this year, and recounts her experiences in a series of columns.

Here, you got to stand on the back of the Land Rover, watching intently for anything that moved. In between the head ducking to avoid a constant flow of spider webs that would stick to your hair and clammy face if something was spotted, you yelled "stop" or pounded on the window - and the driver then would slam on the brakes.

Next, you would very quietly (most of the time), disembark from the Land Rover with all necessary equipment in hand (binoculars, compass and GPS).

You then would write down the animal you had witnessed, its location, time and the numbers of males, females and juveniles.

The opportunities for great photo opportunities were a thrill. My heart would race as I spotted a herd of giraffe towering over the tree lines, looking at us with those big eyes and fuzzy antlers, and enjoyed the springbok bouncing along at a high rate of speed.

And we had other assignments.

Tracks and scats

Tracks are obvious. Volunteers recorded the size, location, etc. Scats involved measuring the length, width and height of the poop.

Carefully scooping it up so that it could be taken back to base camp for closer observation to identify what it has eaten. (Think of corn).

Camera traps

There were 11 of them strategically located on Ongos Farm. We had to check if they were working; replace the memory chip or move one to a better location.

Moving involved cutting down and pulling out anything in the way and took several hours to complete.

Box traps

This is the capture method of choice. Box traps are used for fitting an animal with a GPS collar for monitoring purposes.

Moving a box trap was about a five-hour affair.

Telemetry

This involved standing on top of the Land Rover with an antenna that would track the whereabouts of the collared animals (leopards).

Foot tracking

We spent 5 1/2 hours trekking up the mountain and down the other side looking for wildlife. (We were supposed to do this twice but got rained out the second time.)

I was the novice hiker in our group, and found descending the mountain was a lot harder than climbing up it. (My ample posterior came in handy).

So, with tools in hand and excitement at our wings, we were off on our first assignment - camera traps. I was in group 1 with J. and A., alumnus of previous Biosphere Expeditions, and G., a Polish immigrant who heard about the Namibian trip through the Land Rover Association of which he was a member.

Scientist Bernt drove the first day so we could get a lay of the land, which consisted of bumpy dirt roads and the use of a map with little on it.

Being geographically challenged, I was clueless but enjoyed the scenery nonetheless. Picture baboons swinging across and down the electric towers.

I was delighted.

After the first day with Bernt, we were left to our own devices, which often turned into bickering among A., J. and G. as to who was right.

I chose to stay out of these discussions and was not going to let any circumstance interfere with my African dream.